


we keep this love in a photograph

by Casuallysavingtheworld



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Consensual, Kissing, M/M, art students au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 18:01:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6867715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Casuallysavingtheworld/pseuds/Casuallysavingtheworld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I let you have a few sheets of darkroom photo paper, to pay me back you offered to model privately for my Studio Photography assignment” AU</p><p>Basically, fluff ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	we keep this love in a photograph

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like Jack was a little OOC in this, but like, I just felt he would be way more comfortable with Bitty in this AU because he wouldn't really have to hide his sexuality, whatever that may be, in the art world, but would still be a little bit of a robot.  
> Y'all can be the judge of that.
> 
> But I saw this prompt on Tumblr, and had to write it for Zimbits, because, come on. Anyways, I couldn't picture Bitty as anything other than a fashion major, and completely loving it!

Jack Zimmermann was a photography major, emphasis on fashion and fine art, at SCCS, and it probably helped that his father was Bob Zimmermann, sometimes known as Bad Bob to some of his former models, the famous photographer who shot for magazine covers like Vogue, and had pieces in the MoMA in New York City. Though, being a prodigy isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, as he was pressured by teachers at his art high school to be just as good as his father. This was unknown to his father, and somewhere along the line, Jack started taking medication for his anxiety, and accidentally overdosed on the pills one night. He stepped back from school and photography for a couple years, talking time off to go to rehab and teach a photography class at a local community center to pre-teens and teenagers. His mother, who had went to Samwell College for Creative Studies, had suggested he go there before trying the photography industry out.

Eric Bittle was from a small town in Georgia, whose high school offered fibers and fashion design, as well as photography,  as some of it’s classes. Fibers quickly became one of Eric’s favorite classes, and even though wanting to take the fashion design class, he refrained from it. He took photography for a year instead, and mostly focused on fashion and studio shots in order to get a feel for way fashion looked off of a runway.  But, still loving fashion, he drew his own designs and had his MooMaw and mother teach him to sew. He began making YouTube videos teaching people how to sew and how to bake, which caught the attention at admissions at SCCS, and they offered him a scholarship, a full ride. Eric jumped at the chance to finally do what he loves. Eric already knew that he was going into fashion at the college, and couldn't wait. Eric was given the nickname Bitty two seconds into his freshman year. He almost prefers to be called that now.

For the story of Jack and Bitty, let’s just say, they met through mutual friends, and had, well, a little bit of a rocky start. The two ended up living in the same house, also known as the Haus, during Bitty’s sophomore year and Jack’s senior year. With both mutually, but secretly, pining over each other, they became close friends rather quickly after they stopped hating each other.

Well, the rest is almost history.

* * *

“Thanks for developing this film for me, Jack, you really didn’t have too. I could have done it myself, I took a photography class in high school.” Bitty says to Jack, who takes the keys off his belt, and locks the film-room.

“It’s honestly no trouble at all, you’re just lucky that George trusts me with the copies of these keys,” Bitty nods in agreement, as Jack unlocks the darkroom door.

Jack stepped aside to let Bitty go, looking over his shoulder as he follows Bitty into the darkroom.

“I’m also lucky that you let me borrow your camera so I didn’t have to use Shitty’s broken one.” Jack laughs, and Bitty blinks for a second or two, to get his eyes used to the reddish hue of the room.

“That camera somehow made it with him all the way through college, so I give him props.” Bitty chuckles under his breath as he sets up the enlarger with his black and white him. A comfortable silence fell over them, as Jack watches Bitty work.

Jack likes watching Bitty work, especially when he was baking or he was designing something for his fashion class, the way his small hands worked so delicately with a pencils or a knife, each movement so precise and accurate. Bitty was always more relaxed when he was baking or designing, and Jack was entranced with the way he worked.

And, Bitty working with his favorite medium for his final project was a plus too.

“So what are you working on?” Jack asks, and Bitty walks over to where he stood to grab a sheet of darkroom paper. Jack knows full well what he was working on, but he just wants to hear him explain it again.

“My final project, I’m incorporating pieces of different mediums, like photography, into fashion. I’m taking picture that I took of nature to make into a bust of a dress. Lardo is teaching me how to paint so I can paint a different dress skirt with trees.”

“That’s really interesting, Bittle.” Bitty blushes, and he was lucky that the hue of the room, made it nearly impossible for Jack to see that.

“Thank you Jack,” Bitty says, as he exposes another print. “How can I pay you back? I know this stuff is expensive,”

“Model for my studio assignment.” Jack says almost too quickly. Bitty stops walking towards the chemicals to develop the print.

He turns around, “I don’t really model..”

“I know, I know, but I’m doing a series on male fashion, George thinks it’s a good idea, and well, you are the most stylish person I know.” Jack practically begs, even knowing that Bitty would still say yes, because well, Bitty would love this.

Bitty looked over at Jack, who had a glimmer in his eyes, the type that he would only get when Bitty sat down and talked to him about photography.

“Fine, I’ll do it for you. But, I get to choose my outfits.”

Jack just chuckles and nods in response.

* * *

About a week later, Bitty walked with a backpack filled with all of his outfits into the studio just as Lardo and Shitty were walking out. Lardo smiled at Bitty. 

“Hey Bits, Jack is just finishing setting up the studio!” Shitty told him, giving him a hug.

“Oh, you two aren’t staying?” Bitty replies, stepping away from Shitty and giving a quick hug to Lardo also.

“Naw Bits, I have a feeling that Jack would rather be in the zone.” Lardo gives Bitty a wink, who flushes a light pink. Lardo takes off her backpack, takes out a shirt, and gives it to Bitty, “I recommend incorporating that into one of your outfits.”

Bitty gives her a quizzical look, but really doesn’t question it. He’ll just pair it with rolled up jeans, or something. They smile at him again, and they walk out together.

“Hey Bitty.” Jack walks over to him, after setting up the last light. It just a blank whitish-grey background, and the lights look brighter than he’s used to, but Bitty promised Jack this, and a Bittle doesn’t back down against a promise.

“Hey Jack.” Bitty smiles up at him, and Jack smiles back at him. A light blush dusts both their cheeks, and Jack breaks eye contact and rubs the back of neck, turning around to guide Bitty to the studio.

“Do you have your outfits?” Jack asks, and Bitty nods, taking off his backpack to lay out the clothes he had in there.

He brought his favorite blue suit with his favorite red bowtie, a light grey sweater with a pink collared undershirt with tan khakis, both paired with his favorite brown dress shoes, a white t-shirt with a black square outline with the short sleeves slightly rolled and blue jeans rolled up as well with his favorite  white high top converse, and finally the shirt that Lardo just gave him, that he doubted he was going to put on.

“Okay, which one first?” Bitty asked, and Jack pointed to the suit. Bitty nodded and went behind the curtain that Lardo must have set up to change.

Bitty changed rather quickly, and when he stepped out from behind the curtain, Jack already had his camera around his neck, ready for him.

Bitty flushed with pink as Jack’s mouth dropped at the sight of him, and quickly looked away from him stepping in front of the background.

“Uh, so how should I pose?” Bitty asked, looking up at Jack, tugging on his suit sleeves. Jack smiled at him, and brought his camera up to his eye to look through the viewfinder.

“However you want, I’m not a picky person.” Jack replies, starting to snap pictures already. Bitty throws his head backward in laughter.

“Says the boy that almost threw me out of the Haus for not serving real maple syrup one time.” Jack stopped taking photos of him to stare at him.

“We do not fuck with maple syrup in Canada, Bittle.” Jack told him, and Bitty snuffled another laugh. But, then, at Bitty’s smile, Jack couldn't help himself, and broke into one as well.

Yeah, Jack was so whipped, as Ransom and Holster would put it.

“Try putting your hand on the back of your neck and staring straight into the camera.” Bitty did as he was told, and Jack almost swore under his breath at how good Bitty looked in his suit. Jack couldn't wait to see what he looked like in everything else.

Bitty loved watching Jack move around him, snapping pictures, feeling comfortable in his environment. He was glad Jack trusted him enough to share moments like these with him, and Bitty knew he was never gonna forget these moments.

Fifteen minutes later, and couple dozen poses later, Jack asks him to change into the next outfit. This goes on for the next hour, until the two of them get to the last shirt. Jack wants a couple of more photos, since it's better to have too many to pick from then not enough. Bitty grabs the shirt Lardo gave him, and stepped behind the curtain one last time.

Bitty takes off the shirt he's wearing and throws on the other one. And stops.

Well, more like the shirt stops.

Lardo gave him a crop top. And it took Bitty this long to realize it.

Bitty swallows hard. He doesn't want Jack to think he's trying to make a move on him, but this is fashion, more androgynous than Bitty is used to but fashion is fashion and it should have no gender. Shitty’s voice rings in Bitty’s ear at that statement.

Bitty shakes himself out of it, and tells himself it will be okay. He steps out from behind the curtain, and Jack looks up from flipping through his camera and just stops to stare at Bitty.

“Jesus fucking Christ” Jack thinks.

Jack didn't expect the crop top at all, not that he minds but it's just; Jack doesn't realize Bitty would be that ripped, but from the amount of time that Jack and him work out together and the amount of times Lardo has convinced Bitty to go on runs with her, it's makes sense

And it's gonna kill Jack before this photoshoot is over.

Bitty and Jack don't chat or chirp each other during this part of the photoshoot, neither of them wanting to accidentally admit to something that they weren't ready to admit too.

But, when it's all over and Bitty is still in the top as he helps Jack take down the studio. The lights are still on and the glow of light is enough to make Jack stop again to stare.

“Jack, what is it? Am I doing something wrong?” Bitty looks at him with his big brown eyes and Jack can't take it anymore.

 Jack drops what he's doing and walks over to Bitty and grabs him. Jack looks down at Bitty for a second or two, then leans to press his lips to Bitty’s.

Bitty kisses back and wrap his arms around Jack’s neck, standing on his tiptoes slightly. Jack moves his arms to Bitty’s waist, and picks Bitty up. Bitty wraps his legs around Jack’s waist as Jack moves his hands to Bitty’s ass.

Bitty breaks the kiss for a moment, and looks at Jack, to whisper, “I really like you, Jack.”

“Good, cause I really like you too.” Jack presses his lips back to Bitty’s.

* * *

Jack ends up, with the help of Lardo, making his phone background one that he took during the photoshoot, one with Bitty laughing in his white t-shirt, rolled up jeans, and white converse. Bitty kisses Jack once he finds out. Soon after The Kiss, Jack graduates, and after a couple of years, becomes one of Vogue’s favorite fashion photographers. Bitty tells Jack he loves him when they visit New York over the summer break. Jack is happy.

Bitty ends up becoming a famous fashion designer, with clothes being sold all over the world, with runway shows in Milan, Paris, New York, and celebrities, like Beyoncé, (Yes, that Beyoncé, Bitty cried into the phone to Jack for three hours when he found out), wearing his clothes. Bitty and Jack come out to the world after Bitty’s second New York Fashion week having his very own show. The world explodes with happiness, and so does Bitty.

Jack and Bitty move to New York City together once everything falls into place. Jack proposes at the end of New York Fashion Week after Bitty’s show. Bitty cries, and so does Jack.

Well, the rest is history.

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all can find me on my tumblr: www.thegoghdiaries.tumblr.com !


End file.
